Buy But Did the Planet Notice?

Make the planet notice.

If you want to make the planet notice, follow the economics. It’s what:

got lead out of gasoline in the 80s,

sharply reduced acid rain in the 90s,

cut plastic bags in Ireland by 90% in the 00s, and

is beginning to cut carbon emissions around the world.

Misguided economics is what has led to the head-on collision of markets, people, and the planet we now experience. Fortunately, there are lessons even from the latest financial crisis we can take to make a difference. We have no time to lose. If you thought “too big to fail” was huge, think again. Global warming by now is literally slowing the earth’s rotation. You can bail out AIG, Greece, or even the United States. You can’t bail out the planet. Let’s make the planet notice:

Idealism will not shift the choices of billions of people as effectively as self-interest. Gernot Wagner has written a lucid and enjoyable exposition of the underlying economics.

We must remove the incentives to treat scarce resources as if they were free. He respects the moral principles of the idealists who want to change behaviour by precept alone. But, as an economist, he knows that if we want less of anything, including pollution, we must raise its price.

Reaching effective agreements on how to change the incentives to create global pollution will be extremely hard. But there is no workable alternative.